When ConstitutionDAO was outbid in its effort to buy a rare, first-edition copy of the United States Constitution earlier this week, the community announced it would give donors a choice – either accept refunds, or remain in the DAO and receive a new “We The People” (WTP) governance token.
Refund Option Largely Ignored
Left with US$47 million worth of crowdfunded ETH reserves in its multi-signature wallets, ConstitutionDAO was probably unsurprised when many among its Discord community opted against refunds because of the associated high gas fees.
Why would anyone want the classic refund when they can swap their $PEOPLE tokens on Uniswap for 3x the amount?
Most instead chose to receive WTP tokens without having to pay a gas fee at the rate of 1 PEOPLE per WTP, pumping the former token’s price by 200 percent. Meanwhile, ConstitutionDAO got to retain the capital in ETH. Win-win, with the bonus that the future price of WTP would rise in tandem with Ether.
Funny how the doom and gloom pieces about @ConstitutionDAO fail to mention that $PEOPLE is soaring and a $250 donation is now worth almost $1,400. Is it really a “failure” if everybody 5x’d their investment? pic.twitter.com/CsNvQlIpz7
DAOs are proving what a community can do when it chooses to achieve a collective goal. The day after ConstitutionDAO’s failed bid for the US Constitution, Krause House – an internet group named after late Chicago Bulls manager Jerry Krause – announced its intention to buy an NBA franchise, funded by the sale of NFTs. The group hit its goal of 200 ETH in the first 15 minutes of launching the sale via Mirror.
US investment platform eToro has this week delisted Cardano and Tron from its trading pairs, citing regulatory issues. According to an official announcement from eToro, US users will no longer be able to open new positions or receive staking rewards for Cardano (ADA) and Tron (TRX) due to regulatory issues.
Regulatory Uncertainty Affects Exchanges
The investment platform only cited “business-related considerations in the evolving regulatory environment” as the reason for delisting the digital assets. The new update will take effect on December 26 and staking for the assets will end on December 31.
In recent months, regulators in the US and UK have placed more focus on exchanges as part of regulating the crypto sector. However, at the same time, eToro Australia has introduced crypto staking and 15 new digital assets.
And we didn't even get delisted. Ada is still on etoro and non-US customers can freely trade https://t.co/FAcUgv9ERj
Due to the lack of regulatory clarity, exchanges have different limiting factors for their own policies, so if a currency – ADA, for example – doesn’t meet some or other requirements, an exchange can delist it if it sees fit. In the current state of crypto, one can see liquidity come and go based on various countries and their rules regarding the asset class, and since crypto is a global product but regulations vary between countries, complications can arise.
What Will Happen to Assets on eToro?
According to eToro’s post, positions can be closed at any time – meaning users can still sell their ADA and TRX on eToro and receive USD, adding that it has no plans to force selling. Users will still be able to securely hold existing positions of Cardano and Tron. While staking rewards will no longer be offered to US users for either asset, the final reward payout will go to users on January 15, 2022.
We are only limiting users from opening new positions. We are not forcing users to sell any existing positions.
eToro announcement
eToro plans to roll out its Money crypto wallet in 2022, compatible with the assets so that users can move their holdings there if they don’t wish to sell now. The limiting of sales won’t happen for at least 30 days after offering support for redeeming ADA and TRX to the wallet, which will continue to support the assets even after US users can no longer sell their holdings for USD.
CRO, the native token of the crypto exchange Crypto.com, has surged by more than 1000 percent in 2021 and is now worth almost US$1, with a current price of $0.89 at time of writing.
What’s Driving the CRO Price?
Data from Messari shows the token has been on the green this year, with three-month returns exceeding 533 percent gains. Its total market cap is now above US$23 billion, with 24hr trading volumes nearing US$300 million.
Crypto.com has been doing a lot for the crypto space lately in terms of partnerships, appearances, deals with high-profile companies in traditional finance, even jumping into the sports industry.
Sports Partnerships and Naming Rights
The main drivers of this rally are Crypto.com numerous sports partnerships this year and becoming the first crypto exchange to pass the SOC 2 test, which is an internationally recognised standard in traditional finance.
The Staples Center – home of the iconic NBA team Los Angeles Lakers – will be renamed Crypto.com Arena after the exchange bought the naming rights. This in itself caused the CRO token to surge over 91 percent in later hours.
Moreover, Crypto.com announced yesterday that it has become the first crypto trading firm to comply with SOC 2 standards. This, the firm says, reassures its position as a trustworthy company for its users.
🔒 Security First: The world’s most secure crypto platform is now even more secure.
The SOC (Security Organisation Control) 2 is an internal report that attests to the trustworthiness of a company’s information practices, security, procedures and integrity.
NFT Marketplace Assembles Big Names
In early 2021, Crypto.com hooked up with important names from several industries, collaborating with the likes of Lionel Richie, Snoop Dogg, the Aston Martin Formula 1 team, and more. The resulting NFT platform is now one of the top marketplaces for NFT collectors and content creators.
Launch of Free Crypto Tax Software in Australia
The crypto exchange has also been helping Aussies with their crypto tax obligations. Three months ago, Crypto.com launched a crypto tax software package in the country backed by professional tax advisers to facilitate the filing of crypto taxes at no cost.
Gala Games (GALA) has gone ga-ga, with the gaming token’s price skyrocketing by over 360 percent in seven days. The surge comes as investors welcome exploding interest in decentralised games, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the metaverse sector.
The main driver of Gala’s price hike is its impending Miranda VOX drop, due December 6. The NFT series contains “magical creatures from the realm of Mirandus”: elves, rogue halflings, fierce orcs, stalwart dwarves, plus “surprise” creatures from the Mirandus bestiary will emerge from Gala’s mysterious VOX boxes on the due date.
Creatures from the Mirandus bestiary. Source: Gala Games
Instead of being sold through the CollectVOX website, these VOX boxes will be purchasable directly from the Gala Games store, thus avoiding the usual Ethereum gas wars.
If you’re new to Gala Games, you’ll need to create an account, and then purchase some GALA tokens and some ETH (for network fees).
‘Blockchain Games You’ll Actually Want to Play’: Gala
With its stated mission being to to make “blockchain games you’ll actually want to play”, Gala Games claims to give players control over their virtual domain. GALA is used as a means of exchange between gamers and the coins can be used to pay for items within the platform.
Created in 2019 by Eric Schiermeyer, one of the co-founders of mobile games company Zynga, which developed the likes of Mafia Wars and Farmville, Gala has 1.3 million active users. According to the company manifesto:
We are truly building the largest decentralised gaming platform in the world. Decentralisation means putting the power, the responsibility and the rewards into the players’ hands.
Gala Games
Gala players are able to own NFTs that allow them to vote on new games and thus influence how they are run. The GALA token can be used to purchase these NFTs, as well as in-game items.
According to the Global Gaming Market 2021-2025 report published by ReportLinker, the gaming sector is expected to grow by US$125.6 billion from 2021 to 2025, which will favour the likes of Gala.
Many have attributed Gala’s breakout performance to its being listed on major cryptocurrency exchanges including Binance, Mandala, OKEx, Huobi Global and Bitget.
I see a lot of people talking about gala now. I’ve been in gala since the beginning of the year. Setting up nodes around $3k. Now nodes are over $30k. Seems like it would be a good idea to follow or sub to @cryptonairz. Might find out about stuff a lot cheaper
Last week, Crypto News Australia reported how another NFT and gaming token, WAX, had soared 215 percent in a month on the back of unprecedented user growth.
Deloitte, one of the world’s top-ranked and most valuable accounting firms, has partnered with Ava Labs, the team behind Avalanche (AVAX), to leverage blockchain technology for its new cloud-based platform.
According to its press release, the partnership will see Deloitte leveraging the Avalance blockchain to “enable a new disaster recovery platform that uses the Avalanche blockchain to help state and local governments easily demonstrate their eligibility for federal emergency funding”.
Probably nothing, only Deloitte, the largest accounting firm in the world that provides services to nearly 90% of the Fortune 500 choosing Avalanche for a federally approved disaster recovery platform to help state and local governments with federal emergency funding!$AVAX 🚀 https://t.co/GHzIWuSjfx
Avalanche Utilised to Provide a Secure Environment for Federal Disaster Claims
The new Close As You Go (CAYG) platform was developed with help from first responders, public works departments, finance authorities and grant-making agencies to help simplify and streamline disaster reimbursement applications to the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Close As You Go features a user-friendly interface backed by the cutting edge of blockchains, helping state and local governments focus on their recovery, rather than extensive claims processes.
John Wu, president, Ava Labs
By using Avalanche’s eco-friendly blockchain technology, these critical documents can be quickly gathered, processed and authenticated. CAYG’s cloud-based platform provides state and local officials with a decentralised, transparent and cost-efficient system that empowers grant-makers and funding recipients while minimising fraud, waste and abuse.
Our new Close As You Go platform can play a critical role in helping these leaders be prepared to aggregate and validate the documentation necessary to demonstrate eligibility for funding and reduce the risk of adverse audit findings down the road.
Alex Haseley, principal, Deloitte & Touche LLP, also Deloitte’s government and public services crisis management portfolio leader
AVAX Price Soars
The Avalanche (AVAX) ecosystem has seen exponential growth during the past year, and the native currency AVAX is up 2,618 percent year-to-date. During the past week, the AVAX price reached a little over US$110 after rising 16 percent, with its circulated market cap hitting US$23.76 billion, almost 1 per cent of the total crypto market cap.
In contrast, other leading cryptos, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), fell by over 13 percent and 12.50 percent respectively week-to-date. According to a survey conducted by Deloitte, 76 per cent of people believe crypto will be a strong alternative to fiat money within the next decade.
Opulous (OPUL), a protocol focused on the tokenisation of the music industry, has set fire to the crypto charts with a 785 percent breakout in a single month on the back of a partnership with “market maker” Jump Trading.
The OPUL project aims to empower artists to the extent that music rights can be utilised as value-backed assets in decentralised finance (DeFi).
Since its low point of US$0.635 at the end of September, the OPUL token ballooned 1,095 percent to a new all-time high of US$7.60 on November 15 as its 24-hour trading volume spiked 564 percent to US$11.67 million.
Why OPUL Is On Fire
There are three underpinning reasons for OPUL’s breakout:
the successful completion of its first security NFT (S-NFT) sale;
the token’s cross-chain capabilities, which have enabled support from multiple centralised (CEXs) and decentralised exchanges (DEXs); and
the rising popularity of the NFT ecosystem as a whole.
The first of these factors saw a special token standard created in conjunction with Republic Music, an investment product that claims to offer “an entirely new way to create, produce and share royalties”. Opulous partnered with rap artists Lil Pump and Soulja Boy to conduct the S-NFT sale for their song Mona Lisa, which last month raised its goal of US$500,000 in less than two hours.
How Opulous Works
Once the investment process is finalised by Republic, contributors can go to the Opulous website and mint the S-NFT tokens, which will be distributed on the Algorand blockchain. As the song accumulates streams on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, or attracts other publishers such as radio or television shows, movies or video games, royalty shares are distributed quarterly in the form of USD Coin (USDC) directly to wallets holding the S-NFTs.
I don’t mean this in an arrogant way but having graduated with a music business major it’s impossible to not see how @opulousapp is the most important thing to happen to the music industry since streaming.
The second factor working in OPUL’s favour has been the level of support from several large CEXs and DEXs, which have helped increase traders’ access to the token. OPUL was also able to launch on two of the largest DEXs in the crypto ecosystem – Uniswap and PancakeSwap – thanks to its cross-chain capabilities, which currently include Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain (BSC) as well as Algorand.
As for the third factor, the explosion of the NFT ecosystem in 2021 is a given. Recent keyword data on Google shows that searches for “non-fungible tokens” and “NFTs” are at all-time highs. No surprises there.
News of Crypto.com securing naming rights to Los Angeles’ iconic Staples Center has seen the price of the exchange’s coin (CRO) soar, hitting an all-time high of just below US$0.57.
We're extremely proud to announce that Staples Center, Los Angeles' most iconic arena is getting a new name:
Crypto.com announced on November 16 that it had entered a 20-year partnership with sports entertainment company AEG, which owns and operates the Staples Center – home to four professional sports teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers and LA Kings, and a premier venue for concerts, special events and awards shows, including the Grammy Awards.
renaming the Staples Center to Crypto.com Arena, effective December 25;
Crypto.com featured across the venue via branding and signage throughout the interior and exterior of the facility; and
Crypto.com becoming an official cryptocurrency platform partner of NBA team the LA Lakers and NHL team the LA Kings.
Commenting on the agreement, Crypto.com co-founder and CEO Kris Marszalek said:
We’re very excited about partnering with AEG and investing long-term in this city, starting with Crypto.com Arena in the heart of downtown, and using our platform in new and creative ways so that cryptocurrency can power the future of world-class sports, entertainment and technology for fans in LA and around the world.
Kris Marszalek, co-founder and CEO, Crypto.com
Todd Goldstein, chief revenue officer of AEG, added:
This partnership represents the fastest-growing cryptocurrency platform and the biggest sports and live entertainment company in the world converging to drive the future of sports and live entertainment as well as the incredible legacy of this arena for decades to come.
Todd Goldstein, chief revenue officer, AEG
The CRO token increased in value earlier this month after being listed on Coinbase, reaching almost US$0.40 within two days after tracking sideways under $0.20 previously.
It seems Crypto.com’s aggressive marketing and focus on sporting sponsorships is paying off. The exchange also partners with the UFC, Formula 1, and in September signed a deal with French football powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain.
VGX, an Ethereum token used to reward and incentivise use of the Voyager centralised exchange, has gained 44 percent in the 24 hours since listing on Coinbase Pro.
The latest surge comes on the back of an overall lift for VGX over the past seven days in excess of 50 percent, with the token’s price soaring 70 percent on November 17 after the exchange revealed the new listing.
What is Voyager Token?
On Voyager, VGX holders can earn staking rewards, receive cashback on trades, and more. Like other exchanges such as Celsius that offer yields on cryptocurrency holdings, VGX has developed a model whereby the company earns enough fees via its lending activities to return high single-digit yields to investors, as much as 9 percent:
Bye Bye banks… 1. Deposit fiat to Voyager app and buy $USDC 2. Spend your USDC using the Voyager Debit card 3. Earn 9% APR on your $USDC holdings 4. Buy/hold at least 500 $VGX tokens to get a 0.5-1.5% interest boost on $USDC 5. Earn 7% APR on your $VGX holdings https://t.co/pa5hNZ3U12
In many ways, VGX is a high-risk, high-reward investment for those who believe digital tokens are only just beginning their march to glory. But VGX also provides investors with a unique benefit. By holding a given number of VGX tokens, they can take advantage of the Voyager yield program.
This program rewards loyal VGX holders with additional yield on their holdings. Accordingly, interest boosts of up to 1 percentage point on cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin are offered.
There are various tiers with the loyalty program, so the more VGX you hold, the higher the yield.
Earlier this month, Crypto.com’s CRO token rallied 30 percent after also listing on Coinbase. But for those investors who missed out, there’s always the Voyager Token.
If you missed $CRO check out $VGX the exchange token @investvoyager. Voyager is public company with former Etrade CEO and tons of expansion next 3-6 months. $VGX mkt cap $700MM is 1/10th price of $CRO. Massive upside 10x easy as the Voyager platform grows over time pic.twitter.com/TTWWjFVvIl
Performance of the WAX token has certainly waxed lately following massive NFT (non-fungible token) trading volumes on its Worldwide Asset eXchange (WAX) platform.
WAX Outranks Solana in NFT Sales
This week, WAX surged 44 percent following massive demand for the currency, with over 8 million WAX accounts interacting with the token on the WAX network. The token is up a massive 215 percent in the past month.
Ethereum remains the number one platform in terms of NFT trading volume. But as NFT content creators look for alternative choices, the WAX platform has witnessed massive NFT sales lately. The protocol has become the second Layer-1 blockchain in daily and 30-day NFT sales volume, outpacing high-profile ecosystems in the industry such as Solana and Flow.
There is no big news about partnerships or network upgrades, so the recent price surge is driven only by demand, but we have to note that WAX CEO William E. Quigley has recently talked up NFTs, the metaverse, and the launch of vIRLs, a new form of NFTs issued by the WAX protocol that represent real-world items users can collect without physically shipping them.
The WAX platform is considered the most eco-friendly platform for NFTs, collectibles and video games. There, users can play several decentralised games, build their DApps, and buy and sell NFTs using WAX in a fast, cost-efficient manner.
With its high proven real-world operation transaction volume capacity, unique fee structure of no minting and gifting transaction fees, and energy efficient and low carbon footprint, [WAX] is the ideal blockchain for games that are looking to incorporate elements such as play-and-earn monetisation at scale.
William E. Quigley, WAX CEO
WAX currently has a US$1.5 billion market cap, with each token priced at US$0.85. The price surge comes after a massive wave of traffic, making it the number 1 platform with daily active users.
📈FACT: WAX is the most active #blockchain in the world!
WAX is the undisputed #1 when it comes to daily active users. @Blocktivity1 reports that WAX has substantially more activity than its' nearest competitor.
The Sandbox (SAND), Animoca Brands’ virtual property and gaming project, has announced its highly anticipated Metaverse Alpha event starting later this month. Following the announcement, SAND prices have surged to new all-time highs.
Play-to-Earn Metaverse Event
After four years of development, the Sandbox (SAND) team’s play-to-earn (P2E) Sandbox Alpha event will allow players the opportunity to explore The Sandbox Metaverse for the first time. The virtual gaming world enables users to monetise their time spent in the metaverse via a P2E model. Players can purchase land and create non-fungible tokens (NFTs) within the game and earn Sandbox tokens (SAND) by completing various quests.
The Sandbox Alpha Hub launches on November 29 and closes on December 20. Players who want to take part in the event will need to get their hands on an Alpha Pass, the NFT ticket that will grant full access to the multi-week event to 5000 people. Golden tickets will be on sale on OpenSea’s secondary market between November 29 and December 19.
Players without an Alpha Pass will still be able to access three full experiences and the Alpha HUB, a central multiplayer experience showcasing a range of locations, quests, and the opportunity to connect with other players from the community. However, they will not be eligible to earn P2E rewards.
This is a big deal: Sandbox is finally opening their doors for some alphas to get a peek inside their gaming community vision. $SANDhttps://t.co/iZoMYwDALy
Owners of the Alpha Pass will have the opportunity to earn 1,000 SAND for completing all objectives of the Alpha. Additionally, pass owners have special access to three exclusive The Sandbox Alpha NFTs, which will only be available during the Alpha event.
NFT prizes for owners of the Alpha Pass: The Sandbox
In an interview with Cointelegraph, Animoca Brands co-founder and chairman Yat Siu cautioned future investors that they should take the time to carefully experience The Sandbox before buying tokenised land:
Just go to the places, experience them, join the community on Discord, have a chat with them. See what it’s all about before you make the plunge to buy land because, you know, it’s like buying real estate anywhere in the world.
Yat Siu, co-founder and chairman, Animoca Brands
Metaverse Token Explodes
According to data from CoinGecko, the price of SAND hit a new all-time high of US$3.97 on November 18. SAND has been on a meteoric surge in 2021, gaining 10,545 percent over the past 12 months. Earlier this month ,the SAND token pumped 158 per cent following the Facebook metaverse announcement.
SAND/USD price chart. Source: CoinGecko
At the start of this month, The Sandbox closed a US$93 million Series B funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. The project has been in development for four years and will launch its metaverse in “phased stages” moving forward.
With the idea of the metaverse inching its way into the public sphere, more people are taking part. Barbados recently established the first-ever metaverse embassy as part of its aggressive expansion to build infrastructure and purchase digital land.
